Saturday, 2 April 2011

The BBC reported this week that scientists in the US have found that in order to combat obesity we should manage our sleep and stress levels. The study of 472 obese people over a six month period showed people were less likely to lose weight if they got too little or too much sleep.

And the advice by a UK sleep expert is people need to eat less, move more and sleep well to have a healthier life.

The size of the problem is that around 25% of adults in the UK are clinically obese (having a Body Mass Index greater than 30).

Andy Cox, clinical hypnotherapist and Assured Effects Hypnotherapy in Poole, Bournemouth, Dorset said “The connection between sleep, stress and weight loss is very well known. If we suffer from stress our sleep naturally suffers. When we our tired we boost our energy by snacking and over-eating. We also use treats such as chocolate and cake to combat stress and anxiety in a hope that they will make us feel better. And of course then when we put on weight we lower our self esteem, increase our stress and then our sleep suffers more. Also being overweight can have a detrimental effect on our sleeping patterns so it is a vicious circle”

“The good news is that hypnotherapy is proven to be very effective in stress reduction, weight loss and combating insomnia. This all helps to make us feel a whole lot better about ourselves!”